Leagues Cup viewership on FS1 plummets from last year’s highs

What a difference a year makes. Last summer, Lionel Messi’s debut against Cruz Azul drew 1.75 million viewers on Univision. That was followed up by 1.45 million, who watched Inter Miami win the Leagues Cup Final on TUDN. Fast forward to the summer of 2024, and Leagues Cup viewership has been a major disappointment. To illustrate, Leagues Cup games are averaging 30,000 viewers on FS1. To put that into context, FOX’s main sports network is currently in 71 million American homes.

What those numbers don’t include are viewership from MLS Season Pass and Spanish-language TV broadcaster Univision. Apple keeps MLS Season Pass metrics a guarded secret, requiring MLS employees to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Leagues Cup viewership thus far

Here are the FS1 viewing numbers that have been published onlineby TV Media Blog:

DateTeamsNo. of viewers8/4Philadelphia vs Cruz Azul72,0007/26Pumas vs Austin FC39,0007/28Club Leon vs Portland36,0008/6New England vs Nashville35,0008/7LAFC vs Austin FC31,0008/1Toluca vs Chicago Fire29,0008/9Club America vs Atlas28,0007/30Monterrey vs Austin FC25,0008/4Seattle vs Necaxa25,0007/28NYCFC vs Queretaro24,0007/27Chivas vs San Jose23,0008/8Tigres vs Pachuca19,0008/8San Jose vs Necaxa14,000Average:30,769

However, these numbers starkly contrast with the viewership Leagues Cup witnessed in 2023 on the same FS1 channel. For instance, some of the viewership numbers for FS1 in the summer of 2023 included:

• 173,000 for Club America vs. St Louis
• 148,000 for Puebla vs. Chicago Fire
• 142,000 for Monterrey vs. Seattle
• 121,000 for Monterrey vs. Portland
• 119,000 for Chicago vs. Club America
• 101,000 for New England vs. Queretaro

FS1 averaged below 150,000 for the Leagues Cup in 2023.

Reasons for the drop

Lionel Messi’s injury that forced him to miss the entire Leagues Cup this summer has been a blow. The Argentine broke through with Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup last year. His subsequent…

Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/leagues-cup-viewership-on-fs1-plummets-from-last-years-highs/

Author : Kyle Fansler

Publish date : 2024-08-21 09:19:56

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